TINUBU: I Didn’t Pick Fellow Muslim Kashim Shettima To Please North
Amid reactions trailing his selection of a fellow Muslim, Kashim Ibrahim Shettima, as his running mate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said that he made his choice “with pride because I have made it not based on religion or to please one community or the other”.
Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, announced his decision on Shettima on Sunday during his visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in his hometown Daura, Katsina.
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The outgoing President Buhari, whose two four-year terms terminate in 2023, is a Muslim.
Already, Shettima’s announcement has started generating reactions on social media with “Christian” and “Muslim Muslim” trending at number one and two positions on the Twitter trends table.
Per Tinubu, he picked Shettima because “I believe this is the man who can help me bring the best governance to all Nigerians, period.”
He wrote in a Facebook post: “As president, I hope to govern this nation toward uncommon progress. This will require innovation. It will require steps never before taken. It will also require decisions that are politically difficult and rare.
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“Our focus, therefore, must be on getting the job done; and that means getting the very best and competent people to do it. In this crucial moment, where so much is at stake, we must prioritize leadership, competence, and the ability to work as a team over other considerations.
“If I am to be that type of President, I must begin by being that type of candidate. Let me make the bold and innovative decision not to win political points but to move the nation and our party’s campaign closer to the greatness that we were meant to achieve”…
“Today, I announce my selection with pride because I have made it not based on religion or to please one community or the other. I made this choice because I believe this is the man who can help me bring the best governance to all Nigerians, period, regardless of their religious affiliation or considerations of ethnicity or region.”
“Here is where politics ends, and true leadership must begin. “
Shettima was the governor of Borno State from 2011 to 2019. He currently represents Borno Central District in the Nigerian Senate.
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Below are some of the Twitter reactions:
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